Nobody can pay to be on this list!

If you’ve been tasked with hiring an SEO company in San Diego, your search will have to go well beyond how attractive and cool their website looks. Seriously, this is the extent of many people’s research. If the website looks good, they must know what they’re doing, right? Wrong. Well, sort of. The website DOES have to look great, but you have to do a lot more work than that if you’re going to settle on the best SEO firm for you in San Diego.

And don’t just assume bigger is better. A large company can be generating millions of dollars a year and have hundreds of employees but this doesn’t necessarily mean they’re any better at SEO than a guy working out of his basement, points out Forbes. It really all depends on your needs, your business and your budget.

Here at Planet Marketing, we like to make your job easier, which is why we’ve put together this lost of top 10 SEO companies in San Diego. Some are big, some small, but they all have something in common: they follow through on promises of getting your website more visibility through organic searches. It doesn’t happen overnight, but it can happen. You just have to choose the right partner for this journey in your phase of business ownership.

Just a side note: we have been working in the San Diego area for a long time. We have met or know most of the owners on this list. Although they are our competitors, they have withstood the test of time. Some focus on medium to large businesses while others focus on small companies. One of the big questions you should ask yourself in your search is:

Does their website rank for San Diego SEO? Most of these companies have been in the top 10 rankings for “San Diego SEO”, but there are now a few new companies that shouldn’t be there based off their link building practices. They will disappear like always. Notice companies who rank with their Yelp or Craigslist page don’t make the cut.

Here are our top 10:

1. Planet Marketing: Sorry…shameless plug! We happen to think we’re pretty good at what we do, which all began in 2006 when the owner, Francisco (that’s me) began marketing online, mostly through Craigslist. That’s was the start…fast forward to today and we’re a service-disabled veteran-owned small business focusing on local, national and international SEO. We concentrate on link building to increase your rankings, keyword ranking tracking, metrics comparisons against competitors, and automated reports. What sets us apart from our competitors is that we immerse ourselves in your business to learn exactly who your target market is. In other words, we don’t just try ranking our clients for certain keywords. We want to know which of those keywords are contributing more money into your bank account.
2. Dynamik Internet Marketing: This Internet marketing agency, led by a guy named Dino (I know him and talk to him almost every week), is Google partner certified with marketing consultants who have undergone extensive digital marketing training programs. With a focus on local, national, franchise and international clients, this business (around for about six years) not only provides SEO and lead generation, it trains other aspiring business owners, consultants and SEO firms in the basics of how SEO works. Services for small and medium businesses include SEO Strategy, Targeted Facebook Ads, Contextual Media Ad Placement, Banner Ad Retargeting and Robust Analytics.
3. High Rank Websites: In business since 2005, High Rank Websites specializes in SEO friendly web design and development. Backed by 30 employees, High Rank Websites started out strictly as a small SEO agency but has evolved into complete website design, website production, video production, content marketing, visual content, interactive design, SEO, social media and paid search.
4. Organik SEO: Owned by Julien Brandt, Organik SEO started in 2009 just when social media marketing was starting to really take off. At the heart of Organik is an eco-friendly approach to harnessing the power of SEO and social media, with a main focus on environmental awareness, sustainability, and work-life balance that the company is built on. Today, Organik SEO has become one of the first 10 certified Benefit Corporations in San Diego. The office uses lighting that is 100% CFL Energy Star rated, uses less than two reams of paper a year, and supports local, eco-friendly vendors. Organik SEO caters to innovative companies with well-established brands and websites.
5. Thunder Active: Formerly Thunder SEO, this company specializes in inbound content marketing for growth hacking, representing 4.23 million in median annual revenue of its clients. A HubSpot Silver Certified Agency Partner, Thunder Active caters to industries like plaintiff legal firms, multi-family and lease ups, B2C and commerce, and non-profit and education. They offer three tiers of pricing: Rank Organically for $3500/month, Brand Recognition for $5500/month, and Generate Leads for $8500/month. Founder and CEO Max Thomas hails from the East Coast and is an expert in organic search and data-driven digital marketing.
6. Ignite Visibility: Named the #1 SEO company in the USA, UK and Canada by Clutch.co, Ignite Visibility specializes in SEO, PPC, CRO and social media led by co-founders John Lincoln and Krishnan Coughran. This company’s got 35 employees and 100 clients, delivering custom digital strategies that have been recognized by the likes of Forbes, Entrepreneur, Search Engine Land, and CIO Magazine.
7. SEO Inc.: Owned by CEO Garry Grant, SEO Inc. is an SEO Agency of the Year Finalist by The Landy Awards presented by Search Engine Land. They specialize in SEO, PPC, mobile optimization, social media management, SEO copywriting, link detox and removal, Amazon SEO and eBay SEO. In business since the dawn of the digital age circa 1997, SEO Inc. is a proven leader in this arena as it sits at the forefront of SEO trends and changes in algorithms. It also happens to be a green company, thanks to its recycling program, minimal paper use, low energy LED lighting, and reduced energy consumption.
8. Seer Interactive: The foundation of Seer Interactive is built on giving back to the community. Employees there spent nearly 650 hours volunteering in 2015 and donated more than $2,500 a month to organizations they feel strongly about. With an office in San Diego, Seer Interactive is led by founder and director of digital strategy Wil Reynolds. I actually follow him a lot on Twitter; he does a lot of public speaking and is a leader in his field. Seer focuses on SEO, international SEO, PPC, and Analytics.
9. Internet Marketing Inc.: This full-scale digital agency has been in business for nine years with more than 100 employees at last count. It made the Inc. 500/5000 four years in a row, thanks to award-winning directors and Google Analytics-certified staff. The awards go on and on, like ranking third in 2013 for the San Diego Business Journal’s Fastest 100 Growing Private Companies. With a focus on earned media solutions for cross-channel customer experiences, Internet Marketing Inc. offers SEO, Social Media, Content Marketing, and PR services, along with paid media, owned media and data optimization services.

1. ZD Design Agency: I personally have known the owner, Todd, for about 3 1/2 years. He organizes a lot of seminars on SEO in San Diego, teaching companies how to do SEO for themselves. Todd is probably the most honest guy I know. His wife is a travel blogger and is always traveling. ZD Design Agency employs a three-step approach to online marketing: review and audit, optimize and implement, and market and measure. From offpage and onpage optimization to link analysis and keyword development, ZD specializes in helping small- and medium-sized businesses hone a powerful online presence.

Contact Planet Marketing via live chat or email and we will put you in touch with the best company that suits your needs. I know almost all these guys, and can attest to the fact that they’re all stand-up leaders in their own right.